Battlestar Xanthi: A collection of memories
by Commmander Nash
Summary: The Colonies of Man have fallen. And for those left behind on the twelve ruined worlds, there is only one hope...a Battlestar named Xanthi. But where did this ships come from ? What made it the vessel that it is today ? Read on and find out.
1. From the sacred scrolls

_And those that had not boarded the Galleon sealed and left the Tomb of Athena. For the Lord Architect who was Xanthi had come to them, and he had to told them to leave the Tomb, for it was unsafe. And on that day, the people learned how Zeus had cheated Xanthi. For it was Xanthi, not Zeus, who had shaped the City of the Gods. And the people believed him, for he was a kind soul. And on that day, Xanthi led them to a second great ship, the Frigate , unknown even to Zeus. For Xanthi refused to leave any behind. _

_And Zeus became enraged, for many had been sacrificed to send the first great ship to the stars. And he stripped Xanthi of his immortality and powers, greatly wounding him. But the Lord Architect recovered and lead the people into the great ship. And they took with them the Arrow of Apollo, the instructions to open the Tomb and a warning from Zeus. For Zeus told them that any return to Kobol would bare a price in blood. And the great ship left Kobol. And they followed the trail of the Galleon for many years. And many died during the journey. And Zeus took pity on them. For he could no longer watch the suffering of the people. And he restored Xanthi's immortality. And Xanthi led the people to Twelve Colonies of Man. And he was rewarded, for he was allowed to rejoin the Lords of Kobol. And all rejoiced, for they had reached the promised land. And Xanthi left with Gods. _


	2. A Battlestar is Born

**A Battlestar is Born**

(Battlestar Xanthi – Cylon War, Day 1107)

*Click*…A spark forms in the dark, there is a pause and then…a reaction follows. Slowly, the reaction spreads and power begins to flow. The systems come on-line and…in the Engineering Room, a man in a spacesuit smiles. His name is Marcus McAllister and for what feels like forever, he had been overseeing the construction on this mammoth vessel. Now, it is no longer on power from the Scorpia Fleet Yards. It is slowly beginning to create its own heartbeat. *Click, Click, Click* McAllister started another reactor. *Click, Click, Click* And another. As McAllister walked around, the power begins to radiated outwards….first, the heating elements begin to work, then comes the gravity and finally the O2-Scrubbers and air vents. The Battlestar _Xanthi_ was coming to life. A smile formed on McAllister's face.

"Hello sweetie." McAllister activated his wireless. "McAllister to Power-up Team One. You are cleared to board."

=/\= Wilco, boarding now. =/\=

McAllister walked to another console and throws a last series of switches. A light blinked on, followed by another…and another…another. Finally, the reactor room is fully lit. Like the power, the light begins to spread outwards. McAllister took off his helmet and breathed in the air. It was fresh and warm.

"Better. Much better." He put down his helmet. "Time to go."

He made his way to CIC. (As he walked out, three Engineers walked in. He gave them a polite nod as he passed them.) When he got there, four Engineers were powering up systems.

"Mike, how are we doing ?"

The oldest of the four Engineers looked up.

"We're on schedule, Colonel." He took out a computer chip. "Would you like to do the honors ?"

"Thank you, Chief." McAllister grabbed the chip. "Let's do this."

He walked to the FTL Console and put the lit in open position. McAllister took a deep breath, then opened a small access panel. (The screws were not in place yet.) Behind it was an incomplete circuit. He inserted the chip into a slot and there was a click. The FTL Console came to life. (He put the panel back in place, then put the screws in place.) He entered his clearance code and hit enter. There was a beep and then the FTL clock appeared on the screen. The drive was cold, which meant the clock said twenty minutes. Alas, it would not be McAllister who would order this Battlestar's first jump. That would be her first Commander's job. He took a deep breath and headed out of the CIC. It was up to his team now. As he made his way towards Airlock One, his mind wandered. He remembered the installation of the lights, the welding of the bulkheads, the testing of the PA and so much more. And now he had to hand it over to somebody else. He reached the Airlock. People were going to and fro. (Power-up Team had three-hundred hands.) Commander Peter Magnus was waiting there for him.

"Colonel."

"Commander." McAllister reached into his pocket, pulling out a small item. "So I guess this is it, she's all yours now." He looked back across the airlock. "You know, I had my doubts this ship would ever get finished. And now that she is, it's like a dream." He held up the item….it was a one Cubic coin. "This was my lucky charm throughout the construction process. It's yours now."

Magnus accepted the coin from McAllister.

"Thank you."

"Good luck, sir."

The two men shook hands. McAllister walked away, while Magnus boarded his new ship. He noticed that one of the men from the Power-up Team had followed the exchange.

"Something on your mind, crewman ?"

"Nothing serious, sir. It's…it's just a silly question that just popped into my mind."

"Let's hear it."

"Do Battlestars dream ?"

"Let's find out. Carry on."

The crewman went back to work, while Magnus walked deeper into the ship. As he did, he played with the coin. The man's question rang in his ears. Do Battlestars dream ? And what kind of dream would it be ? A good one, or a nightmare. Alas, there was only one way to find out. He pocketed the coin and went to work.


	3. A Trip to Hades and Misery

**A Trip to Hades and Misery**

**Battlestar Xanthi – Day 1505**

The gas of the Northern Gas Cloud was warm. Colorful and warm. The colors were only noticeable to those on the Observation Deck. They could see a spectacle of blue-green and purple gas pass-by as the _Xanthi_ pushed her way deeper inside. But warmth was clear to all. It moved through the ship in waves. They began at the outer hull, then headed deeper into the ship, before exiting through the sub-light drives. To keep the warmth – or better put, heat – from becoming too much for the crew, Commander Magnus had ordered the ship's own heating units to be disengaged. And it was still hot as hell. The Commander looked at the Dradis screen, searching for salvation. The reason they were in the nebula was a brand-new supply station called Ammo Station Twelve. When brought on-line, it would be a key facility to the defense of sector three-eight. But it could not be brought on-line until it's crew was aboard. And the _Xanthi_ was carrying that crew.

"Now approaching the Hades Asteroid Field, sir." The ship's Navigation Specialist said.

"About time." Magnus muttered. "Very well. Captain, you know what to do."

"Yes, sir. Beginning preparations for parallel course now, sir."

Magnus picked up the intercom horn. (He held it upside down as he spoke into it.)

"All hands, this is the Commander. Re-engage the heating units." He looked up to see that somebody had brought up the countdown clock. "Six minutes until we reach the Hades Asteroid Field. And counting down."

He signed off and put the horn down. On the far edge of the Dradis screen, the first rocks of the Hades Asteroid Field appeared. This field was home to Ammo Station Twelve. (It orbited one of the bigger rocks.) The field was a collection of debris that orbited a star called Misery.

"Whoever charted this cloud had a very sick sense of humor." Magnus muttered.

"Sir ?" A nearby junior officer asked.

"A field called Hades orbiting a star called Misery."

"Yes, sir." The officer said. "I see what you mean, sir."

Magnus went back to studying the Dradis display. The field was becoming more dense. And the shadows of the rocks were causing the temperature to drop. The Commander went to the Engineering Station to check on the heating units. They had all be re-engaged.

"Internal temperature is at twenty degrees and is holding steady, Commander." The ensign behind the station said.

"Well done, Mister Jonas."

"Yes, sir."

"What about the hull temperature ?"

"It's highly unstable, sir." Jonas began. "One section is scorching hot, while another is ice cold and a third is room temperature. I recommend we get her into the field as soon as possible."

"Noted." He made his way back to the Command Station, where the Navigation Specialist was waiting for him. "Report, Captain Miller."

"The turn calculations are ready, sir. We can go parallel with the Field at any time now."

"Excellent." He looked at the Dradis display. They were down to three minutes. "Take you station, Captain."

"Yes, sir."

Miller took his station. Magnus let them close to thirty, then ordered the turn. Miller and his aides executed the turn perfectly. Then Jonas reported the hull temperature was now stable. They were in the Shadows of Hades, while Misery made the world around them boil.

(Battlestar Xanthi – Commander's Quarters – Day 1506, 0800)

Magnus sat behind his desk. The morning reports were waiting for him. He began with a Status Report from the Engine Room. They reported that _Xanthi_ had suffered a little wear and tear during the passage, but nothing that couldn't be fixed before the end of the first shift. Next came a battle report from the _Galactica_. She and the _Columbia_ had intercepted two Cylon Basestars. One had been destroyed, while the other had been damaged and forced to Jump away. Both Battlestars had launched Raptors to search for the wounded vessel. Finally, there was a message from Fleet HQ. They wanted all Commanders to begin surveys for possible locations for Ammo Station Thirteen. All in all, these were not the worst morning reports he had ever received. But the day was far from over yet. There was still the mid-watch report and the evening reports. He had barely completed the thought when the voice of Lieutenant-Colonel Denise Mitchells – _Xanthi_'s XO – came over the intercom.

"Action stations, action stations ! Set condition one throughout the ship !"

Magnus grabbed the horn of his intercom unit.

"Commanding Officer to CIC, report !"

"XO here. We have a Basestar at the very edge of Dradis range, sir."

"Have they launched their Raiders yet ?"

"No, sir. They apparently haven't seen us yet."

"I'll be right up."

He put the horn down and ran out of the room. It didn't take him long to reach CIC. When he got there, Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell was coordinating preparations for the attack. He quickly made his way to the Command Station.

"Report."

"We're putting Vipers in all the tubes now. The Raptors are being prepared in the Starboard Flight-pod, sir." She said.

"Time to the first wave ?"

"Launch in fifteen seconds, sir."

"Status of the Basestar ?"

"Closing, sir." Miller said. "Twelve seconds until we enter their Dradis range, sir."

Magnus nodded and looked around. There was an electrical tension in the air. _Xanthi_ had gone toe-to-toe with a Basestar before, but never by herself. This was her first one-on-one engagement.

"Now entering enemy Dradis range, sir."

"First wave of Vipers away, now preparing the second, Commander." Mitchell said.

"Raiders ?"

"Launching now." Miller said. "Forty contacts and more on the way, sir."

"Second wave of Vipers is away."

"The Cylons have launched all their raiders. I'm counting eighty-five contacts., sir."

"A Basestar that size should carry two-hundred raiders." Mitchell said. "Where are the rest ?"

"We'll worry about that later." Magnus said. "Time to contact ?"

"Twenty seconds." Miller said. "Ten…five…"

Magnus reached into his pocket and felt the one Cubit coin McAllister had given him. The Battle of Hades and Misery had begun.

**To be Continued….**


	4. The Battle of Hades and Misery

**The Battle of Hades and Misery**

Captain Theresa Leyton always felt a thrill when her Viper cleared the launch tube and hit open space. But this time, things were different. To begin with, the space beyond was not entirely open. Added to that was her rank. She had only been made Captain – and squadron leader – two days ago. And then there was the fact that they were the first wave in _Xanthi_'s first one-on-one brawl. All of this accumulated in a tingling sensation in her fingers. She looked around and saw that all eleven of her squad-mates were with her. It made her feel a lot better. Then the first toaster flew into Dradis range. She activated the wireless.

"Okay, boys and girls, formation Delta One." She took the safeties off her guns. "Weapons free, we've got work to do."

As she got acknowledgements from the others, the sensation in her fingers ebbed away. Then they entered weapons range and all hell broke loose.

**Battlestar Xanthi – CIC – Day 1506, 0802**

Magnus played with the one Cubit-coin as he watched the Vipers engaged the Raiders. At the same time, he was keenly aware of the closing Basestar. He gave Mitchell a look, but he didn't need to give any orders. She was already getting the weapons ready.

"Third wave of Vipers going in now, sir." Miller said.

"Time to Basestar contact ?" Magnus said.

"Seventeen seconds, Commander." Mitchell said. "All weapons ready."

He looked at the Dradis display, but saw the situation in his mind. Xanthi in the Shadows, the Basestar in the heat and the Vipers fighting the Raiders in between. He turned to the helm station.

"Helm, change course to 205 carom 82. Rotate her twenty degrees on her Y-axis."

"Yes, sir. Changing course now. Rotation in ten seconds…five….and now !"

_Xanthi_ turned and rolled. She was now ideally positioned, with her main guns at a thirty degree angle towards their target. Then the Basestar opened up with everything she had.

"Incoming !" Miller said. "Artillery and four nukes, sir."

"Focus on shooting down the nukes. We can take the artillery."

"Yes, sir." Came several replies.

The _Xanthi_ opened up with everything she had and took down three of the incoming nukes. But the last one hit and exploded…

Eight of their Vipers had been blasted to pieces by the Cylon opening salvo. The survivors had let rip, but it was not enough. So now they were playing cat-and-mouse between the rocks of the Hades Asteroid Field. At the moment, Captain Leyton was dodging two Raiders.

"Come on, Theresa, think."

She took a sharp starboard turn, barely dodging a salvo from the toasters. A huge rock appeared ahead and she moved around it. One of the Raiders went around it to starboard, while the other went to port. They barely avoided hitting one another. Leyton saw her chance and did a one-eighty. She fired a burst and both Raiders went up. But now she was flying backwards. So she didn't see the next rock. The one that was heading straight for her…

The ship had rattled under the impact, but the armor had kept out the bulk of the radiation, What had gotten through, had ended up in the dry-bulk storage, spoiling a large portion of the ship's food supply. But that was a problem for later. For now, Magnus had to focus on getting the Xanthi through this battle. He turned to Mitchell.

"Status of the Raptors ?"

"The first wave is heading out now, sir." Mitchell began. "We're also preparing another wave of Vipers."

"Good. But it's time to hit them with something harder. Release nuclear weapons is now authorized. Weapons officer, prep launch tubes one through six."

"Yes, sir." Said Mitchell and the weapons officer.

The weapons officer – Lieutenant Andrea DeSalle – gave the prep orders and soon the tubes were loaded. In the meanwhile, the Vipers and Raptors had launched.

"Missiles loaded in tubes one through six." DeSalle said.

"Tell the birds to get clear, then open the doors."

"Opening the doors, sir."

"Load target packet. Entering targeting solution for the Basestar."

"Loading target packet. Entering targeting solution for the Basestar."

"Packet loaded, sir."

Before Magnus could give the next order, something really bad happened. A second Basestar jumped in. Now things were really going to get ugly.

Leyton was still moving backwards. There was no sign of any Raiders, but she knew that they were out there. Then the rock appeared.

"Frak !" She yelled as she pulled the stick to the left. "Blood rock pile !"

Her Viper barely cleared the rock and the move pushed her deep into her chair, courtesy of heavy G-forces. As soon as she was past, she turned her Viper around. Two second after she did, an energy discharged barely missed her bird.

"Crap ! A firecracker !" She took a couple of deep breaths to slow down her racing heart. "Of course, that's it !"

A smile formed on her face. She had a plan to nail these bastards.

The second Basestar also opened up with everything she had. Magnus knew _Xanthi_ couldn't defeat two Basestars, so they had to get out of here, and do so now.

"Time to speed this up." He turned to DeSalle. "You know what to do, Lieutenant."

"Aye, commander. Warhead and launch safeties disabled."

Next, Magnus and Mitchell quickly keyed in their command codes. DeSalle then quickly got the launch key. Mitchell put it in the proper slot.

"Release nuclear weapons is now authorized. Fire tubes one through six !"

Mitchell turned the key and five seconds later, all six nukes launched. Magnus turned to the Helm station. (He had no intention of waiting to see what happened with the nukes.)

"Take her to course one-eight-two carom two-eight."

"Yes, sir." The Helmsman said. "Course one-eight-two carom two-eight."

_Xanthi_ turned to the new course, which put the Field between her and the Basestars. But Magnus knew it only bought them time. Now all he needed was a plan to kill the Basestars.

Leyton's plan was based on physics. Most of the Northern Gas Cloud was warm and the gas flowed fast. But in the Shadows of Hades, the gas was much colder and flowed much slower. The friction between the gas flows created a natural electro-magnetic field. Battlestars, Raptors and Vipers had limited EM-protection and avoided unnecessary passages through the field. But the asteroids didn't have any control of their course. They weaved through the EM-field at random. And sometimes one became charged. These rocks were nicknamed Firecrackers., and when a ship got to close, they discharged. So Leyton figured all she had to do, was get the toasters to get to close. She opened a wireless channel and said a prayer to the Lords of Kobol.

"Leyton to all Vipers, rally to me." She said.

She looked at the Dradis display. It was empty, but she refused to give up. So she repeated her call. And this time she got an answer. It came in the form of four dots on her Dradis display. Two Vipers were chasing two Cylon Raiders. She set an intercept course and soon spotted the Raiders.

"Come on, you bastards."

Then she entered weapons range and opened up on the nearest Raider. It exploded. The other two Vipers targeted the other one and cut it to pieces.

"Tapdance to Ladykiller." One of the Viper pilots said. "Me and Walker are ready to go, Captain. So, what's the plan ?"

"One thing at a time, Tapdance. First, we need to bust out a couple more birds."

"Right, boss."

The three Vipers turned and went to find new targets.

Magnus tapped the one cubit-coin on the navigation table. He looked at the Dradis display and studied the two Basestar signatures. And then he realized something.

"_Galactica_'s report."

"Sir ?" Mitchell said. "Is something wrong ?"

"I know why the first Basestar only had eighty-five Raiders. Galactica and Columbia recently damaged another Basestar, forcing it to jump away."

"Of course." Mitchell said. "A Repair Star."

"Sir." One of the junior officers said. "What's a Repair Star ?"

"Something the Admiralty thinks is a myth. The entire lower disk is a repair facility, design to fix other Basestars." He paused. "Destroying one of those is equal to destroying twenty normal Basestars."

"But how are we going to do that ?"

That was the one-million credit question. But Magnus knew where to begin. The lower half of the Repair Star had to include a large Tyllium tank for refueling a damaged Basestar and its Raiders. If they could detonate that, it would take a considerable chunk of the enemy with it. Then they would hit it with all the firepower they could muster. The problem was how to detonate the tank. While the rocks blocked the Cylon's weapons fire, they also blocked their wireless signals. And that meant they couldn't reach their birds. So it was time for some creative thinking.

They had managed to liberate eight more Vipers and two Raptors. The others were either destroyed or still playing cat-and-mouse in the Field. Only now they were being chased by larger numbers of Raiders. So Leyton knew this was all she was going to get.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road." She activated the wireless. "Formation Omega Three. Baker, Walker and Tiger, break away and head deeper into the Field. Distract the toasters."

"You got it, boss." Tiger said.

The three Vipers broke away and dove into the Field. Then the remaining ships formed two diamond formations, each with a Raptor in the middle.

"Okay, boys and girls. Set course 130 carom 12."

The small fleet turned to the new course. There was a large rock ahead of them. Once close enough, they opened up with all their weapons. The rock shattered. But one part survived, the core, which was solid iron. This was the key to Firecrackers, as such cores were highly sensitive to EM-fields. Of course, Leyton had not know if this rock had come with a iron core. But the bigger the rock, the bigger the chance it had of having one. So she picked the biggest one in range. And it had paid off.

"Sometimes, there's no substitute for plain, dumb luck."

Next, they took up positions on one side of the asteroid. Then they fired thrusters to maintain their position. And then came the hard part.

"Okay, time to start pushing. Engage engines."

There were acknowledgements and then the small fleet engaged their engines., while using the thrusters to keep the proper distance. Slowly, the core began to move. They continued to push and soon the core was moving fast. Then it hit the EM-field. It had the desired effect. The core was charged like a battery. And then came the really hard part. They had to push the core back the other way without getting fried. Luckily, the two Raptors were armed with missiles. She gave the proper orders and the Raptors broke formation. They armed a couple of their missiles and fired them in a precise pattern. It also had the desired effect…the core slowly began to tumble in the other direction. As it picked up speed, she began planning the next phase of her attack…

Lieutenant Dan McIvers ran as fast as his legs could carry him. His destination was the starboard flight pod, where his bird was being prepared for a desperate mission. He looked back to make sure his co-pilot – Ensign Tyler Williams – was still following. The man was still there. Finally, the two of them reached the pod and made their way inside.

"For the record." Williams began. "You know this is a suicide mission ?"

"I know our chances of making it back are microscopic. Even if we survive until delivery, well...things will get nastier soon after that."

"But we're still going anyway. Aren't we, sir ?"

"You don't have to come with me." McIvers said. "Hell, I can order you to stay."

"Dan, I knew it might come to this when I joined the Fleet, sir. I'm going to see this through, sir."

"Good. Because I'm going to need all the help I can get."

They reached their bird. But it was not a Viper or a Raptor. What people often forgot was that beyond their combat wings, Battlestars also carried shuttles. _Xanthi_ had four of them. McIvers and Williams were the crew for Xanthi One. They approached their bird and went inside. There, a group of deck hands was making rushed modifications to the passenger section. McIvers turned to the ranking deckhand.

"How are we doing, Chief ?"

"Two Mark-Three Nukes ready to go, but we need to set the timers."

"How long ?"

"Five minutes. That's the longest we can set on this model."

"I'll take it." He gave the chief a nod "Last chance to bail out, Tyler."

"No way."

The deckhands quickly finished their work. They connected the timers to the pilot's console, where they had set up an activation switch. The chief gave them their last instructions, then they were left alone. They quickly put on their helmets and took their seats. Two minutes later, they were ready to go. McIvers activated the wireless.

"Xanthi One to CIC. We're ready to launch."

"Xanthi One, this is Xanthi Actual. You are cleared for departure. May the Lords of Kobol be with you."

"Thank you, Actual. Xanthi One out."

William fired the thrusters and they lifted off the deck. Then McIvers opened the main engines all they way and they were gone.

Things were going to hell in a hand basket. They were now dealing with two Basestars and the fighters had been decimated. Leyton knew the first because she could see the two Basestars at the edge of Dradis range. The second, she could she with her own eyes. Of the one-hundred and eighty Vipers they had begun with, only forty-eight remained. And the Raptors had gone from sixty to eleven. But the enemy had suffered losses as well. They were down to fifty-seven Raiders. And most of those came from the second Basestar. At the moment, the survivors of both sides were gathering.

"Looks like we're about to have an old-fashioned showdown, boss." Tapdance said.

"I know, just keep close to the rock."

The colonials were sticking close to the charged iron core. It was providing them with (temporal) cover from the toasters. But it wouldn't last. Which was where the hard part came. To draw the toasters in close enough to fry them. The Cylons were many things, but stupid was not one of them. By now, they had figured out the core was charged. And if they hadn't, they would so soon. Which meant they wouldn't go near the core. Instead, they would simply blow it up. So she would have to come up with a plan to draw them in. She took a couple of deep breath and an idea formed in her head. It wasn't pretty, but it was all they had. She activated her wireless and began giving orders.

McIvers pushed the engines to the limit. He knew that Xanthi couldn't dodge those two Basestars forever. Worse, one of the two Basestars was in fact moving around the Field. It would soon drive the _Xanthi_ towards its companion. Once caught between the two Basestars, the Battlestar wouldn't stand a chance. Added to that, the moving Basestar would soon be able to put down heavy fire towards their Vipers and Raptors.

"Have they spotted us ?" McIvers said.

"No, we're still hugging the Field to close for that."

"Good, but we can only do that for another minute."

"Okay…now would be a good time for a plan, boss."

"I'm working on it. But let's start by putting the autopilot on program Alpha."

"Right." Alpha program meant the computer would fly the ship in a straight line (on the course it was on). "Okay, the autopilot is programmed. Next move ?"

"Shut down everything we don't need."

Williams nodded and began flipping switches. The shuttle was soon cold and dark. Then they reached the breakaway point. McIvers took a deep breath and then put the stick as far to the left as possible. The shuttle bolted towards the target Basestar…

There had been a lot of crazy plans during the course of the war, but Leyton was that her plan – if anybody survived it – would go down as the craziest one ever. She took a deep breath.

"Okay, folks, here we go." She said into her wireless. "All Raptors, fire !"

They had only a handful of missiles left. The Raptors let theirs fly, eliminating three Raiders and starting the Cylon assault.

"Vipers, fire your missiles !"

The Vipers fired their missiles and three more Raiders were shot to pieces. Now came the crazy part.

"Everybody, to the core !"

All the birds turned and headed for the core at top speed. The Cylons, however, didn't follow. As Leyton had expected, they had detected the charge. The colonials continued to close on the core until they were only five meters outside the danger zone. There, they came to a dead stop.

"Everybody ready ?"

She got acknowledgements from everybody. Then she said a quick prayer and gave the order. Once that was done, she hit the master buttons and her Viper went almost completely dark. Only the thrusters were still working. She fired them and moved her Viper six meters ahead. And then she held her position and let go of her stick.

"Come on." She took a couple of deep breaths. "Please don't blow up in my face."

The charge in the core was massive and could fry a lone Raptor or Viper with ease. But they had fifty-two birds, which meant they could handle a much bigger jolt. And then it came. A massive bolt jumped from the core…

They were approaching their target on the most direct course possible. But it still felt like it took forever to get there. The Dradis console beeped twice. They both knew what it meant.

"Incoming !" Williams said. "I'm reading four missiles, boss."

"Drop swallows !"

Williams dropped six swallows and activated the warhead jammers. (They had two of them.) McIvers took the shuttle into a wild starboard turn. Three of the missiles hit the swallows, but the last one kept coming.

"Time to do some fancy flying, boss."

"Distance ?"

"Twenty thousand clicks and closing." Williams fired four more swallows. They all missed. "Fifteen thousand and still closing. I need more power to the jammers, sir."

"We can't spare it. Tighten the beam to minimal."

"Right." He changed the settings. "Ten thousand…nine…eight…seven…six…five…"

McIvers threw the shuttle into two more turns, but the missile kept going. Williams readied the last two swallows, while he also kept working on the jammers. The missile closed further.

"…four…three…two…" He hit the proper frequency. "Gotcha ! And…detonate !"

The warhead exploded nine-hundred meters from the Xanthi One. There was a bright flash and then a great shockwave swatted the shuttle. It began to tumble…

Leyton prayed harder then she had ever prayed before. The electrical charge was being conducted through her ship. But it wasn't doing any damage. For while such a jolt was a danger to a powered Viper – all the systems would melt – it was none to a powered-down unit. With all the systems off, it was simply a Faradius-cage. And because she was not holding the stick, she was isolated for the charge. Because her uniform was non-conductive.

"Come on. Jump already."

And then it happened. The charge jumped out of her Viper. And it didn't just happen to her Viper, but to all the others and the Raptors as well.

"Come on, you bastards, fry !"

With no other place to go, the charge went where they needed it go…Into the Cylon Raiders. The result was devastating. (Not only where the Raiders active, the Cylons piloting them were holding their sticks and their feet were made of metal.) Thirty-one of the Raiders were destroyed outright. Seven spun out of control and were destroyed in collisions. Then the Vipers and Raptors powered up.

"All units, attack !"

Two minutes later, all the Cylon Raiders were destroyed and the Colonials headed towards the nearest Basestar.

Magnus looked at the Dradis display and cursed. There had been an explosion near Xanthi One and now the shuttle was spinning out of control. And it was only a matter of time before the Basestar would fire another wave of missiles. The survivors of the combat force were moving towards that Basestar, but their chances of making it there in time were slim. And _Xanthi_ herself had her own problems. The second Basestar had managed to move around the Field and now she and _Xanthi_ were exchanging fire. Magnus could feel the impact of the enemy missiles as they hit home.

"Return fire ! All main batteries !" Mitchell yelled into the intercom. "Target the connecting section between the two discs."

"Helm, keep dodging. New course…183 carom 14." Magnus said.

"Yes, sir." Miller said from the Helm station. "Setting new course now. And we're rotating her ten degrees on her Y-axis now, sir."

"Good." He flipped the one cubit-coin. "Next, give me Z-plus two thousand meters in five minutes from my mark." He counted to ten in his head. "And…mark !"

The clock began to count down. Now all he could do was hope that he had gotten the math right. Or the plan in his head would blow up in his face.

McIvers finally managed to break Xanthi One out of her spin. They were a lot closer to the Basestar now. Which was a major problem. They were an easy target and out of swallows.

"Okay, now what ?" Williams began. "We're a sitting duck here."

"Hang on. Full speed ahead."

McIvers opened the throttle all the way again. Then he switched the activation unit to on. The countdown began. And now came the really nasty part. To escape before the nukes went off. But before they could do that, they had to deliver them first. So he kept pushing the engines, while putting the shuttle through four wild turns. And then it came.

"Incoming !" Williams said. "Five missiles !"

"Jam them !"

"I'm trying, but they're closing fast."

McIvers threw the shuttle into another turn, while bought them enough time to find the frequency of one of the missiles. It detonated two seconds later.

"One down, four to go."

"Distance ?"

"Six thousand clicks….five….four…"

McIvers knew it was time for desperate measures, so this time he threw the shuttle into a corkscrew. It was enough to mess up the guidance system on two of the missiles just enough to make them collide. But the last two were closing fast. Williams desperately tried to find the frequency for the missiles. He managed to find one and detonate it at five-hundred meters. Then he said a quick prayer and waited for the end. But it didn't come. He looked at the Dradis display and spotted another ship. It was a Mark-II Viper.

"Thanks the Lords for the cavalry." McIvers said. "Three minutes and counting."

"Time for our escape, boss."

They approached the Basestar in a straight line again now. The Viper stuck close to them, ready to provide cover fire.

"How did that Viper get there before we were blasted to pieces ?"

"I don't know and I don't care." McIvers said. "Let's do this and worry about the rest later."

They reached the Basestar and McIvers landed the shuttle on its hull. Then he activated the magnets usually used to secure the shuttle to deck. Next, he opened the inner airlock door.

"Okay, time to go."

"Right, boss."

They entered the airlock and closed the door. McIvers looked at his watch. They were down to two minutes. The outer door opened and they began to run along the Basestar's hull.

"We'll never make it." Williams said.

"Don't worry. I have a plan."

He looked at his watch. They were down to one minute. He knew the timing would have to be perfect. When they were down to thirty seconds, he made his move. He had not landed at a random point. The spot he had picked was near the Tyllium tank – or where he suspected it was – and very close to a Raider launch tube. He threw Williams down the tube and dove after him. Then the nuke detonated.

Leyton arrived just in time to see the explosion. It was a massive flash that was even brighter then Misery. When it died down, half of the enemy Basestar was gone. The other half was badly damaged. She could see several fires and large decompressed sections. She figured it was time to finish the job, so she activated her wireless.

"All Vipers, open fire ! All Raptors, head back to the barn, now !"

The Vipers opened up, while the Raptors broke away. Leyton didn't waste any time joining the attack. Soon, whole chunks of the Basestar were exploding. Finally, somebody hit something vital – probably the FTL drive – and the whole thing went up in smoke. Leyton gave her next order.

"Okay, folks, back to the barn !"

The Vipers began to turn away, but then Leyton noticed something. Two emergency beacons were transmitting from somewhere inside the wreckage. And they were Colonial. She turned her Viper around.

"Tiger, I've got something impossible here. I need cover."

"On my way, Ladykiller."

Soon, Tiger's Viper came into view. Together, they moved towards the signals. It led towards a piece of Raider launch tube. The section was badly damaged. Leyton saw burns, twisted metal and even impact craters.

"In there ?" Tiger said.

"I'm not liking this." Leyton said. "I'm not liking this at all."

"It could be a trap."

"Heeeello !" An unknown voice said. "We can hear you ! Get us the Frak out here !"

"McIvers, is that you ?"

"No, it's your grandmother on a wooden raft ! Of course it's me ! Now, get us out of here !"

"Stand by, I have to get a Raptor over here. Tiger, go to channel four."

"Right, channel four."

They switched over to channel four.

"How much ammo do you have left, Tiger ?"

"Twenty-two rounds, boss."

"Okay, I've got forty rounds. You go get that Raptor. Hell, if you can, bring the whole barn."

"You got it, boss."

Tiger turned his Viper away from the section and pushed his thrust pedal for all he was worth. He had no intention of being away a second longer then he needed to. Leyton watched him go and hoped that there was somebody for him to bring back.

_Xanthi _and the Basestar were still exchanging punches. Magnus knew that so far, the _Xanthi_ had the upper hand. But he also knew that it wouldn't last. According to the _Galactica_'s report, it had taken everything she and Columbia could muster to damage the Basestar. A normal Basestar who have been torn to pieces under such heavy fire. Which led Magnus to believe that this was no normal Basestar.

"Thirty seconds !" Miller announced.

"Sir, they're trying to bring their lower batteries back on-line." Mitchell said.

"Time to finish this, Captain ?"

"Ten seconds…five…and go !"

Xanthi moved up and then rotated on this axis, until she was 'upside down'. (Of course, there was no such things in space, but nobody cared about that technicality. They needed to the main guns pointed at the Basestar. And this moved did that.) Next, the ship pivoted to starboard and went to full sub-light. And this was where the math came in. For when she had moved up, _Xanthi_ had gone from the Shadows of Hades to the Realm of Misery. The Realm was the area of the Northern Gas Cloud nearest to the star. It was also where the gas flowed the fastest. The key fact here was that _Xanthi _was moving downstream, while the Basestar was moving upstream. Magnus had done the math on how fast the two ships could move. And if he had gotten it wrong, this would end very badly of them.

"We're out of range of their lower battery now, sir." Mitchell said.

"DeSalle, ready tube seven for launch."

"Yes, sir."

DeSalle quickly ran through the pre-launch orders. Magnus looked at the Dradis screen. They had passed the Basestars and were now flying away from it. Of course, that didn't keep the gunners from putting down all the fire they could muster. DeSalle announced the tube was ready.

"Remove warhead and launch safeties."

"Safeties removed, sir."

"Release nuclear weapons is now authorized. Colonel, enter you authorization code."

"Yes, sir."

Mitchell and Magnus quickly keyed in their codes. Mitchell took the launch key, put it in the proper slot and turned it. Two seconds later, the nuke launched. This time, they watched it as it went. Magnus sensed that everybody in CIC was holding his breath.

"Come on." Miller whispered. "Come on ! Hit already !"

And then the nuke hit home. It exploded, taking out the connecting section of the Basestar. In less than a minute, the entire ship was gone. There were cheers from everybody. Mitchell called for quiet.

"Status of the Repair Star ?" Magnus said.

"We have…." Mitchell began, but she didn't finish. For at that moment, the nukes aboard Xanthi One exploded. "…a kill ! Xanthi One, sir. They've done it !"

There were more cheers and once again Mitchell order quiet.

"Status of our fighters ?"

"We've got incoming Raptors and the Vipers are engaging what is left of the Repair Star."

"Prepare the flight pods for incoming birds." Magnus said. "Colonel…" He lowered his voice. "How bad is it ? How many have we lost ?"

"To many."

He looked at the Dradis display and took a deep breath. It was time to collect the butcher's bill.

**Battlestar Xanthi – Commander's Quarters – Day 1508, 1706 Hours**

It had taken two days to clean up the mess of the battle. They were now setting up Ammo Station Twelve as planned. But Magnus was worried. They were down to a handful of Vipers and Raptors. And they had lost a lot of good people in this battle. He took a deep breath and then got up from behind his desk. Magnus grabbed the intercom horn next to the desk. He activated it and called for McIvers and Leyton to report to his quarters. They showed up five minutes later.

"Have a seat." Magnus said.

The two officers sat down on the large bench that came with the room. Magnus didn't waste any time getting to the point.

"As you both know, we suffered heavy losses during the battle. So, we need new crew. The problem is that all the brass can give us, is a load of nuggets." He paused. "Which is why I'm promoting the two of you." He took two small boxes out of his desk drawer. "Major Leyton, you're now our CAG." He gave her one of the boxes. "Lieutenant McIvers, we'll have to completely re-staff Viper Squadron Two. I'm promoting you two full Lieutenant and Squadron Leader." He gave McIvers the second box.

"Thank you, Commander."

"Sir." McIvers began. "What about Ensign Williams and the shuttle squadron ?"

"The brass is sending a replacement for Xanthi One. Junior Lieutenant Williams is going to be her new pilot, with one of the nuggets as his co-pilot."

"Yes, sir." He paused. "Is there anything else, sir ?"

"There is one more thing." Magnus turned to Leyton. "You're dismissed, Major."

"Yes, sir." Leyton said.

She nodded and walked out, while Magnus turned back to McIvers.

"Now, lieutenant, we have a problem." He paused. "You survived an exploding Basestar. And the Admiralty wants a crystal clear answer on how you did that."

"Yes, sir. I understand, sir."

Magnus sat down on the bench and took out a recorder.

"So, take it from the top." He hit the record button.

"Okay, we had landed the shuttle on the hull…."

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Missing Links

**Missing Links or 'Why it is not a good idea to be stuck on a Cylon Basestar you just glued a nuke to'**

**(Cylon Basestar – Outer Hull – Day 1506, Time Unknown)**

They were down to thirty seconds, but the Lords of Kobol were smiling down them. Because they were exactly where he had hoped they would be. (It had taken him all of ninety seconds to come up with the plan and it hinged on hope, a prayer or two and the few things he remembered about Cylons Basestars.) They reached the Raider launch tube and he pushed Williams inside, then entered himself.

"Keep running !"

"We'll never make it." Williams said.

"Tyler, shut the Frak up and run !"

They kept running. The clock reached ten seconds and then something happened. One of the things that set Basestars apart from Battlestar was the Halfway Pressure Door. Battlestars had two pressure doors in their launch tubes. One at the very end of the tube and one in front of the Viper. But Cylon Basestars had a third door halfway down the tube. This model of Basestar had less launch tubes, and the third door allowed them to load two Raiders in each tube. And when the clock reached ten seconds, McIvers and Williams ran past it. Which triggered an automated safety protocol and caused the door to slam shut. Two seconds later, the door in front of them also slammed shut.

"Down." McIvers yelled. "And hold on !"

They dove to the floor and grabbed the magnetic rail normally used to launch the Raiders. And then all hell broke loose.

The explosion was a monster. It took out everything behind the door. Pure heat assaulted the door. It flashed into heat, which poured straight into the air around McIvers and Williams. The temperature in their suits skyrocketed. McIvers knew they couldn't take this for long. His vision became blurred and then he passed out.

**(Battlestar Xanthi – Commander's Quarters – Day 1508, 1715)**

"You passed out." Magnus said. "You should have been vaporized in a split second."

"Yes, sir. We should have been."

"Then…why weren't you ?"

"I don't know, sir. The only other thing I can remember is that…" His eyes went wide. "I didn't see the door close, sir."

"Because the tube was filled with nebular gas ?"

"Yes, Commander."

"That gas has a huge heat resistance. It takes a whole sun to heat it up." He paused. "And if the coolant pipes next to the magnetic rail burst, the heat resistance would only get greater."

"So, we basically survived because something on a Cylon Basestar broke down ? Fan – frakking – tastic."

Magnus smiled. He didn't really care about how they had survived. (He had only asked to please the Admiralty.) He was simply happy that they had.

"Dismissed, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir."

McIvers got up, saluted and walked out.

**(Battlestar Xanthi – Duty Locker 47 – Day 1508, 1720 Hours)**

Leyton walked into Duty Locker 47 and lay down on her bunk. Above her was Ensign Peter Aurellius. During the Battle of Hades and Misery, he had flown Viper 18. He had been the pilot who had covered Xanthi One on her final approach. Which made Leyton wonder how he had gotten there in time.

"O, what the Frak do I care ?" She got up and shook Aurellius. He opened his eyes and blinked. "Pete, how'd you make to Xanthi One in time ?"

"What ?" He blinked again. "What did you say ?"

"How did you make it to Xanthi One in time ?"

"You woke me for that felgercarb question ?"

"Magnus made me CAG, Pete."

"Really ?" Aurellius was now fully awake. "He made you CAG ?"

"Really. And that means I need to know for the paperwork."

He swung his legs over the edge of the bunk and sat up.

"Okay, I was at the far edge of the formation…"

Aurellius had let go of the stick as ordered. He breathed calmly as he waited for the charge. Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, but it came in the end. The charge ran through his ship. He looked out the window and saw it jump through the other Vipers and Raiders as well. Then it was gone. Once he had powered back up, he looked at the Dradis display and saw that the Cylon fleet had been decimated and that his fellow pilots were attacking the survivors. But he also noticed something odd. A tiny dot on the edge of the screen. He turned his Viper in the proper direction and blasted away. When he got there, he couldn't believe what it was.

"A nuke ?" He shook his head. "You've got to be kidding me."

But it was indeed a nuke. And then he saw the markings. It was one of the six nukes Xanthi had launched. They had all missed the Basestar. And five of them had been blasted to pieces by the Cylons. But this one had survived long enough for the safety protocols to kick in. If a warhead missed, after a while, it powered down and began transmitting a recovery signal. Which was he had picked up.

"Okay, let's mark your…"

Then his Dradis display beeped. It showed a shuttle spinning out of control. Two seconds later, a Basestar came into range. Aurellius cursed under his breath. It was only a matter of time before the Basestar targeted the shuttle and blew it to pieces. And even at top speed, he couldn't make it in time to safe her.

"Come on, Pete, think. There was to be…"

And then he realized he had found the solution already. He quickly keyed a code into his wireless control panel and hit the transmit button. The nuke responded instantly.

"I always thought these codes were rubbish until now."

As part of their recovery programming, nukes were fitted with codes that allowed Vipers to access their systems. Aurellius quickly found the program he wanted. It allowed the Viper pilot to set coordinates for the missile to fly to. He set the program to fly the missile towards the Basestar.

"Now comes the hard part." He extended the landing gear. "Let's do this, baby."

He put his Viper above the missile, then turned on the magnets in his landing gear. The effect was exactly was he hoped. His Viper clamped itself to the missile.

"Okay, time to go."

He opened the throttle all the way. Then he triggered the program. There was a massive burst of speed as the nuke's engine engaged. It pushed him back in his chair.

"Come on, come on, come on !"

After fifty-seven seconds, the missile ran out of fuel. He turned the magnets off and pulled away. The missile reacted to the change in weight by changing course. It made a slow turn into Misery's gravity well. The star pulled it in and burned it out of existence. Viper 18, however, kept going. As he closed on the target, the shuttle broke out of her spin and the Basestar fire a missiles salvo…

"And you know the rest." Aurellius said.

"You rode a missile ?" Leyton began. "You're nuts."

"It's a crazy war, ma'am."

"You'll get no argument from me there. Congrats, Pete, you're a Squadron Leader as soon as we pick up our load of nuggets. Now, get some sleep. That's an order."

"Yes, ma'am."

She left Aurellius to get his shuteye. But she knew she would not be able to get any of her own. So she headed for the pilot's ready room. She had a feeling there were tons of paperwork waiting for her.


	6. First Day

**First Day**

**(Battlestar Xanthi – Port Hangar Deck – Day 1825, 1905 Hours)**

Ensign Gaius Nash was as stiff as a board as he stepped off the shuttle. He had spent the trip sleeping. But now he was wide awake. He looked around the Hangar deck and took in the organized chaos around him. Then he saw a Mark-II Viper.

"Nice." He walked up to the Viper, then ran his hand along the hull. "What a beauty you are."

"To bad for you she's already taken, Ensign."

He turned around to see Major Theresa Leyton and snapped to attention.

"At ease. Ensign Nash." He relaxed a little. "So, you've taken a liking to Marcy ?"

"Marcy, ma'am." Nash looked at the Viper. "Is she…"

"No, this is Lieutenant Peter Aurellius' bird. Officially, it's Viper two-hundred and eighty-three. But he calls it Marcy."

"This is 'Bombrider's' bird ? Just my luck."

"Don't worry. Bombrider is not that jealous. But talking about birds, follow me…" He followed Leyton to a battered old Raptor. "This is Raptor 204 and she's all yours."

"Does she come with an ECO, ma'am ?"

"That's me." A voice said.

A woman with red hair, blue eyes and a very attractive figure appeared from behind the Raptor.

"Ensign Gaius Nash, meet your ECO, Chief Petty Officer Tammy Byron. We call her Ace."

"So, what's your call sign, Gaius ?"

"I'm fresh of the boat, so I'm call sign-less at the moment."

"I'm counting on you to fix that, Ace." Leyton said. "For now, get 'Widowmaker' up and running. Then report to me in the Pilots Ready Room."

Leyton left them with the Raptor. Nash looked at Byron.

"The Widowmaker." He pointed to the Raptor. "Why is she called…."

"Because she is only three weeks and you are her seventh pilot."

"Bloody Hell ! I'm stuck with a jinxed bird ?"

"I'm afraid so." Ace sighed. "I'm her third ECO. Rumor has it that they died rather nasty death."

"So ? What's a good call sign for the pilot of a doomed ship ?"

"Dead man ?"

"Let's not tempt the Gods."

Ace gave him a nod and looked at the Widowmaker again.

"How about….Rufus ? It's the old Caprican for rubber and you are supposed to steer her."

"Rufus it is. So, where do we start, Ace ?"

"Well, to begin with, we need to figure out what is broken." She dove into the cockpit and came back with the clipboard. "Here's the checklist. You want to read or check ?"

"I'll check. You read."

"Yes, sir."

He got into the pilot's seat and Ace began reading.

**(Battlestar Xanthi – Pilot's Ready Room – Day 1825, 2300 Hours)**

It had taken an hour to find out exactly how bad the damage was. The battle that had killed the last pilot, had also put the Widowmaker through the wringer. They had left the ship in the care of six knuckle draggers, who had told them it would take five hours to get her repaired. Nash had wanted to report in, but Ace had insisted that he had to find his bunk and settle in. After that, they had gotten an hour of shuteye and a meal. Rested and fed, they had stepped into the Ready Room to find Leyton briefing a full room of pilots on their patrol assignments. Nash leaned closer to Ace.

"Looks like we're about to get our first flight."

"That's why I insisted on food and sleep, Rufus."

"Thank the Lords."

Leyton finished the briefing and the pilots left. Then she turned to Nash and Ace. They both snapped to attention.

"At ease." Nash and Ace relaxed. "We're sending a large patrol group to check out a nearby asteroid belt. Which leaves us with a problem. If we encounter the Cylons, we've got very little ammo." She pointed to a white board with a map on it. The map showed the asteroid belt and its surroundings. "So I'm sending you two here." She pointed to a dot on the map. "Ammo Station Four. Fly in, load up as much ammo as you can, and get back here."

"Yes, ma'am." Nash and Ace said.

"Any questions ?"

"Do we have more detailed maps of that area, ma'am ?" Nash asked.

"Of course. Stay here, Ensign."

Leyton went into the next room, while Ace turned to Nash.

"Maps, Rufus ?"

"The toasters are not stupid." He pointed to the map. "Ammo Station Four is near the edge of the belt. And two moons. If I was them, I'd set up an ambush somewhere near those moons…"

"Or inside the belt."

"Exactly. The knuckle draggers are still working on the Widowmaker. Let's use the time to do our homework."

Leyton came back with a thick folder, which she handed to Nash.

"Ensign, chief, you are dismissed ! You two have work to do."

They gave her a salute and walked out.

**(Widowmaker – Cockpit – Day 1826, 0705 Hours)**

The folder had contained several photos of Ammo Station Four, along with three detailed maps. (Two of the areas around the moons and one of the section of the belt nearest to the Ammo Station.) Nash and Ace had studied it all and planned their course. Ace had calculated that the trip would take about six hours. She figured about an hour to load the Raptor and refuel, followed by a seven hour trip back. (They were taking a different course back. Which made the return trip longer.) At the moment, Nash was soundly asleep – and snoring like a chainsaw – while Ace flew the ship. Then the Dradis beeped.

"Rufus ! We've got trouble !"

Nash snapped awake and bolted to his chair, while Ace slid over.

"Ace, what do we have ?"

"I'm reading five…no, make that six Cylon Raiders."

"Are they attacking the Station ?"

"No." The Dradis beeped. "Frak, they're heading right for us !"

Nash checked their position. They were on the last legs of the trip. It took them near the closest of the two moons. The moon had a thick atmosphere, which the Cylons had been using for cover.

"Hang on ! I'm turning her around."

He yanked the stick to the left and turned the Raptor, then opened the throttle to full.

"Ace, activate the rear gun. Blast those bastards to hell."

"You did notice that there are SIX of them and only one of us."

"I'm working on it !"

He threw the ship through several wild turns. Which gave Ace time to man the rear gun.

"Ready !" She opened up with the gun. "Come on, you bastards !"

Nash looked at the Dradis display. Ahead of them was nothing but open space. If they kept going that way, they were sitting ducks. So he put the Widowmaker into a wild turn, which put them on a course back to the moon. The toasters closed, but Ace was no slough. She nailed one of the chasing Raiders.

"Got one !"

They were approaching the moon. He took them into the atmosphere and the Raiders kept following. Nash took the Raptor into a gas stream , which pushed the ship along faster. Then he took the ship down and fired the brake thrusters. One of the Raiders moved straight into the crosshairs of the rear guns. Ace blasted it to pieces.

"And that's two !"

She tried to fire again, but the gun jammed. She jumped from the seat and bolted forward.

"Turret's Frakked up."

"Hang on !" He put the Widowmaker into a loop. "Missiles !"

Ace fired two missiles. One hit home. The other one missed its initial target, but clipped a second Raider and exploded. The Raider spun out of control, diving deeper into the atmosphere until the pressure crushed it.

"Two toasters remaining. Keep dodging them, Rufus."

"Sounds like a plan. Missiles ?"

"Locking on."

Ace fired two more missiles. This time, both missed. They detonated behind the Raiders, doing zero damage. This left them with two missiles. Ace locked them on target.

"Rufus, now would be a good time for a prayer."

"I'm not that good with a prayer."

"Try anyway."

"Okay, okay…euhm…Dear Lords of Kobol, please don't let this blow up in our faces."

"So say we all !"

Ace fired the last two missiles. The both hit a single Raider.

"Great ! Now what."

"Now, we run !"

Nash put the Widowmaker on a straight line for the Ammo Station and floored it. Alas, the toaster was faster.

"He's gaining on us, Rufus !"

"I know, Ace. Now, shut up and let me think !"

The toaster launched a salvo and Nash threw the Widowmaker into a roll. It was barely enough to dodge the salvo. And then the Dradis beeped.

"What is…"

He looked up and saw the answer. They were coming up on the Madman Cluster, a collection of asteroids near Ammo Station Four that no sane pilot would go near. But the toaster was closing and they were out of weapons. So he gunned it for the Cluster.

"Rufus ! What the Frak are you doing !?"

"Playing Caprican roulette. Hold on !"

They reached the Cluster and dove in, barely avoiding a large asteroid. Alas, so did the toaster. Nash cursed and threw them through more wild turns as they dodged the rocks. The toaster tried to nail them, but hit nothing but rock.

"They're still back there, Rufus !"

"I noticed, Ace."

He spotted an area with dense rock movement and took them in. The rocks whizzed past left and right. Nash cursed as he dodged the boulders, but kept the ship in one piece. This time around, however, the toaster was not so lucky. It was hit by one of the rocks and spun out of control. Three more rocks hit it, finishing the job.

"Yes ! Now get us the Frak out of here, Rufus !"

"Keep holding on., this is going to be bumpy."

He turned the Raptor upwards and began weaving them out of the Cluster. When they finally passed out of the Cluster, Nash and Ace both released a huge sigh. He checked the Dradis display.

"Nothing on screen." Ace said.

"Good, time to get out of here."

Nash turned the Widowmaker towards the Ammo Station. He gave Ace a nod and she activated the wireless.

"Raptor 204 to Ammo Station Four…requesting clearance to land."

"Clearance granted." The station's LSO said. "Bring her in at Landing Bay One."

"Wilco, 204 out." She turned to Nash. "You heard the man. Take her in, Rufus."

They approached the Station. It was a large disk with two large cylinders underneath. The left one was Landing Bay One. Nash steered the Widowmaker into it. The crazy last leg of their trip was over.

**(Battlestar Xanthi – Duty Locker 24 – Day 1826, 2030)**

It had taken an hour to get the Widowmaker ready to take off again. Then they had spent another hour getting it loaded to the brim. After a short, but intense debriefing with the Station's Commander, they had headed back to the Xanthi. Then they had spent another hour unloading the Raptor. After reporting in to Leyton, they had been ordered to get some shuteye. So, they were going to do just that. Nash took the upper bunk, while Ace took the lower one. As she lay down on his bunk, Ace suddenly realized how drained she felt. Her body told her to sleep for two days. Rufus beat here to it, however. As she noticed from his chainsaw snoring. As she closed her eyes, she realized that she had been bloody lucky. And that next time, they might not make it back. But for now they were safe. Which was enough for her. So she let the world melt away.


	7. The Handover

**Chapter 7 – The Handover**

With her eyes closed, the world was a soft mattress. And there were the smells of the room. The smell of blankets, sweaty socks and dozens of other things. But that was not all. For the world was not complete without the sounds. The footsteps in the corridor, the talking of people and distant humming of machinery. All in all, it was a nice universe. As long as she kept her eyes closed. So she didn't want to open her eyes. She just want to lie here and let the moment continue. Alas, the universe had other plans.

"Colonel Leyton ?" A voice said. "The Commander send me to get you, ma'am."

She sighed and opened her eyes.

**(Battlestar Xanthi – Duty Locker 47 – Day 2004, 0805 Hours)**

Colonel Theresa Leyton swung her legs out of the bunk and got up. She recognized the owner of the voice as Ensign Ralph 'Dodger' Wallace, a nugget Raptor ECO.

"Lead the way, Ensign."

"Yes, ma'am." They walked out of the room. "May I ask you something, ma'am ?"

"What on your mind, Dodger ?"

"Well, ma'am, you're the XO. You have your own quarters…"

"….so why am I still sleeping in my old bunk ?" She smiled. "Somebody once told me that this war is crazy. And he was right. So I've developed a habit or two to keep me sane. Lying in that bunk reminds me that there are some things the toasters can't take away. No matter what happens."

As they walked, her mind drifted to all the things that had changed since the Battle of Hades and Misery. The Air Wing had been expanded to two-hundred and forty Vipers and ninety-six Raptors. But that wasn't the big tactical change. Before the Battle, _Xanthi_ had been a lone wolf. Now, she had four support vessels. And Colonel Mitchell had been promoted to Commander of one of those ships one-hundred and fifty-four days ago. Which was how Leyton had ended up as XO. (Mitchell had taken the only candidate - Major Miller - with her to serve as her XO.) Her old job as CAG had gone to now-Major Dan McIvers, with Captain Pete Aurellius as his second-in-command. As for McIvers' old co-pilot, Tyler Williams….he had made full Lieutenant and now the ranking LSO for the starboard flight pod. It had not been a willing assignment. On day 1985, he had lost his left leg. So Williams had been forced to chose between retirement or becoming an LSO. He had – angrily – picked the latter. They reached the Commander's quarters, ending her time to ponder. Wallace announced their presence.

"Come on in, Colonel." Magnus said. "You're dismissed, Ensign."

Wallace left, while Leyton followed Magnus into his quarters. They sat on the bench.

"I'm afraid I've got a good news, bad news situation."

"Let's hear it, sir."

"I just new orders from the Admiralty."

"And ? How bad is it ?"

"I've been promoted, but not in rank…I'm being transferred to the _Atlantia_."

The _Atlantia _had seven support ships, which made it a highly desired command. It was a high profile post, and her last two Commanders had both become Admirals.

"And _Xanthi_ ? Who's the new…" He gave her a look. "No, no, not….me ?"

"I'm afraid so."

She took a deep breath.

"I was hoping for a little more time as XO to be honest, sir."

"That's how I felt when they made they plucked me from being XO on the _Archeron_."

"When are you leaving, sir ?"

"That's the really bad news. The shuttle is already here, and I'm already packed."

Leyton felt her blood grow old. She looked around and realized that he was telling the truth. All the Commander's personal things were gone. Then a smile grew on her face. This was typical of Magnus. He hated brass, protocol and most of all, being the center of attention. He simply wanted to leave in silence. Leyton nodded.

"I understand, sir. But I'll need an XO. Have you got anybody in mind ?"

"There are a lot of good officers. Use your instinct to pick your XO." He reached into his pocket and took out a note, which he gave to Leyton. "But here are five names my instincts tell me you should put on your short list."

"Thank you, sir." She put to the note away. "Any other tips, sir ?"

"When you can, get some R and R. It rarely happens and nobody has any use for a burnt-out, Commander." Magnus got up and went to his desk. He opened the drawer and took out two boxes. For a moment, Leyton thought back to the last time Magnus had done that. It had been when she had promoted to CAG. Then she pushed the memory away. "And now the last thing. To begin with, your pips." Magnus gave her one of the boxes, which she opened to find her new rank pips. She closed the box. "But those can wait." Magnus said.

"Sir ? I don't understand."

He handed her the second box, which she opened to find a one cubit-coin.

"I got that from the guy who oversaw the construction of the _Xanthi_. It's a lucky charm."

"Do you really believe that ?"

"To be honest, I don't know. But with the way this war is going, do you really want to risk ?"

"Good point."

Leyton put the coin in her pocket. Magnus nodded and closed the drawer.

"That's it. Good luck, Commander." Magnus said.

"Good luck, Commander."

They shook hands and Magnus walked out. Leyton looked around, realizing it was now hers. It suddenly felt huge. She took a couple of deep breaths and then removed her old pips. She opened the box and put on her new pips. Her shoulders suddenly felt like somebody had put a heavy weight on them.

She put her old pips in the box. Soon, she would be offering them to somebody else. But for now, there were other things to do. To begin with, she would have to tell the crew.

"No time like the present."

And so, Commander Theresa Leyton walked out of her quarters and went to work.


End file.
